Staff Profile: Helen Bishop

As Proposal Development Administrator in the Office of Grant and Contract Administration (OGCA), Helen Bishop helps campus researchers connect to research funding opportunities. "I help them grasp the basics involved in the non-science prescriptions of preparing proposals primarily to federal government sponsors. I also assist those looking for support from other sponsors such as private foundations and industry using a tool called the Community of Science (COS) database," she said.

Bishop meets with faculty to help them decide which possible funding sources they can pursue, depending on their interests. "My favorite part of the job is meeting faculty from all different backgrounds," she said. "From education research to music and dance, nanotechnology, polymers, life sciences, various periods in history, document preservation, environmental issues, language development, we see it all."

UMass Amherst subscribes to the Community of Science database, which serves as a portal for federal and non-federal grants for research, training and meetings, among other things. Although it has science in the name, the database houses funding opportunities in all disciplines. Faculty, staff and students can maintain a catalogue of research and scholarly interests and make connections with other researchers in the U.S. or internationally, through profile searches. Bishop serves as the COS liaison on campus and, in the year she has been here, has seen many new as well as established faculty members create accounts and use the service more efficiently.

COS allows faculty to sign up for alerts from different funding agencies. Bishop walks faculty through the process of building funding searches that are broad enough to be relevant to their research without being overwhelming. She organizes group trainings especially for new faculty – current faculty are also welcome – and is available to meet one-on-one upon request. She is currently in dialogue with the W.E.B. Du Bois Library about getting the COS link put on the web sites of the main library and departmental libraries. This will present researchers throughout campus more opportunities to sign up to use the service.

After working with Bishop on COS, faculty can expect to benefit by having access to a database that profiles their work to colleagues at more than 200 national and international universities and research institutions (including UMass) who could collaborate with them. They can also tap into the database to initiate contact with potential collaborators. They will also be assured of receiving better targeted e-mail alerts for funding opportunities related to their research areas.

Using a UMass Amherst login, campus members can use COS to create and update their profiles. Once registered, accounts could be accessed from anywhere. Faculty members with questions about using COS or about reinstating existing COS accounts should contact Bishop.

Bishop also coordinates OGCA's lunch time brown bag event series, which are well attended by business/grant managers and faculty alike. As summer approaches, faculty should feel free to get in touch with her with topic suggestions as she starts planning for the 2009-10 series.

The bulk of Bishop's work centers around helping faculty understand sponsor and university policies and guidelines, budget development and other requirements. She also helps train faculty on using the electronic grant application and management system (GAMS) in its entirety or in part, as necessary to specific applications, and as more federal agencies buy into the system-to-system approach.

Bishop has worked with NGOs in several countries in West Africa. She earned her master’s degree in international affairs at Columbia University in New York City and went on to work in Uganda, East Africa for close to six years. Her assignments in Uganda took her all over the country. Working in sponsor relations with Save the Children in Uganda, she is skilled in formal sponsor negotiations in all stages of the project design and award process.

Faculty interested in finding funding for their projects through COS or who are interested in a COS or GAMS training or demonstration should contact Helen hbishop@research.umass.edu at 545-2962.




Staff Profile: Helen Bishop As Proposal Development Administrator in the Office of Grant and Contract Administration (OGCA), Helen Bishop helps campus researchers connect to research funding opportunities. "I help them grasp the basics involved in the non-science prescriptions of preparing proposals primarily to federal government sponsors. I also assist those looking for support from other sponsors such as private foundations and industry using a tool called the Community of Science (COS) database," she said. Bishop meets with faculty to help them decide which possible funding sources they can pursue, depending on their interests. "My favorite part of the job is meeting faculty from all different backgrounds," she said. "From education research to music and dance, nanotechnology, polymers, life sciences, various periods in history, document preservation, environmental issues, language development, we see it all." UMass Amherst subscribes to the Community of Science database, which serves as a portal for federal and non-federal grants for research, training and meetings, among other things. Although it has science in the name, the database houses funding opportunities in all disciplines. Faculty, staff and students can maintain a catalogue of research and scholarly interests and make connections with other researchers in the U.S. or internationally, through profile searches. Bishop serves as the COS liaison on campus and, in the year she has been here, has seen many new as well as established faculty members create accounts and use the service more efficiently. COS allows faculty to sign up for alerts from different funding agencies. Bishop walks faculty through the process of building funding searches that are broad enough to be relevant to their research without being overwhelming. She organizes group trainings especially for new faculty – current faculty are also welcome – and is available to meet one-on-one upon request. She is currently in dialogue with the W.E.B. Du Bois Library about getting the COS link put on the web sites of the main library and departmental libraries. This will present researchers throughout campus more opportunities to sign up to use the service. After working with Bishop on COS, faculty can expect to benefit by having access to a database that profiles their work to colleagues at more than 200 national and international universities and research institutions (including UMass) who could collaborate with them. They can also tap into the database to initiate contact with potential collaborators. They will also be assured of receiving better targeted e-mail alerts for funding opportunities related to their research areas. Using a UMass Amherst login, campus members can use COS to create and update their profiles. Once registered, accounts could be accessed from anywhere. Faculty members with questions about using COS or about reinstating existing COS accounts should contact Bishop. Bishop also coordinates OGCA's lunch time brown bag event series, which are well attended by business/grant managers and faculty alike. As summer approaches, faculty should feel free to get in touch with her with topic suggestions as she starts planning for the 2009-10 series. The bulk of Bishop's work centers around helping faculty understand sponsor and university policies and guidelines, budget development and other requirements. She also helps train faculty on using the electronic grant application and management system (GAMS) in its entirety or in part, as necessary to specific applications, and as more federal agencies buy into the system-to-system approach. Bishop has worked with NGOs in several countries in West Africa. She earned her master’s degree in international affairs at Columbia University in New York City and went on to work in Uganda, East Africa for close to six years. Her assignments in Uganda took her all over the country. Working in sponsor relations with Save the Children in Uganda, she is skilled in formal sponsor negotiations in all stages of the project design and award process. Faculty interested in finding funding for their projects through COS or who are interested in a COS or GAMS training or demonstration should contact Helen hbishop@research.umass.edu at 545-2962.


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